Comments on: Marketers: Give Feminism Its Due

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:18:59 +0000

Let me get practical here. I am a divorced guy (about two years now) of 40 years old. I make would like to have kids sometime soon and I make good money but am open to any of these possibilities:
1. Both work. We both take some time off but go back to work.
2. We have kids, she stays home with kids and I work.
3. We have kids, I stay home with kids and she works.
So I am equally open to a sugar mama or open to supporting someone who stays home or something in between (e.g., both work and share child care responsibilities) and probably day care would be involved in that case.
Does that make me a feminist? Perhaps. However, I do not really think it matters whether it is the woman or man who is the primary bread winner or if one or the other stays home.
The key is does the relationship and the arrangement that is negotiated work well for all involved and result in good kids being raised? If the answer is yes, then I do not see how this sort of flexibility could be a bad thing.
Maybe I sound naive because I do not have kids. I don’t know.

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:47:08 +0000

No, no, I do not think that everything that works from the distinctions between the genders is smacks of the war between the sexes. Moreover, I do not think these distinctions need to be subtle. I feel perfectly comfortable using the term chick flick without censure, even though I myself like some of those films, too.
I can openly tease a woman about liking Oprah and a woman can say to me that I have a one track mind, and she would be speaking the truth. Having a one track mind is fine by me.
The war between the sexes is the notion that males and females as groups are fundamentally at odds with each other. I do not think this is the case.
My comments on feminism above were more that the word has lost its usefulness by over politicization by both left and right. While there are still political battles to be fought, the one on gender roles is over.
Now, gender roles are to be negotiated between each couple and the government really does not need to say much more on the topic.

By: Andrea Learned

Andrea Learned — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:20:56 +0000

That in so many cases we still have to make a “compelling” case for separating out women as a marketing segment – is true, I just can’t believe we STILL have to do it. (but I know I’m coming from a place of having been thinking/writing about it now for 7+ years, plus I am naturally a bit impatient…)
That’s why I’m exploring other angles (and yes – possible new ways of putting it/terms) that get the same results as we intend from “marketing to women.” If, for whatever reason the word “women” has a stigma or is a blindspot for the marketing decision-makers in question – can we, in fact, work around that. Are we pushing a boulder uphill (because there are soooo many people who will still not respond to the M2W opportunity)? Does everything that works form the distinctions between genders, in however a subtle way, still smack of that war between the sexes you mention, Neil?
I think there is some deeper thinking worth doing here. Thanks, all of you, for your input! If you have continuing interest in such a discussion – let me know as my work is very much digging into this…

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:54:26 +0000

I think the word feminism is weighted down by politics and the so called culture war. There are those on extremes of left and right who have ruined a perfectly serviceable word.
We need a new, non-politicized word that means, “the release of women from the constraints of gender custom and practice.”
That word can get a fresh start and we fresh start without the identity, victim-group politics of some on the the left — and without the ridicule and contempt of some on the right.
Ideally, keep politics out of it. We are past that and it is just women and men trying to live together (in the broad sense) in the world as we find it today.
In addition, the so-called “war between the sexes” sort of thinking and talking is not helpful (even if subtle).

By: AMJ

AMJ — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:48:06 +0000

It’s still very hard for some people to think in terms of “both/and” rather than “either/or” even in 2008.
It doesn’t HAVE TO be about blurring, bending or breaking the many time-honored strategies. It can be a mosaic approach – with clearly defined edges separating each piece, but each piece fitting together with many others to form something that works for all.
I work in the field of emergency services, and getting real buy-in for a “female” approach, is a challenge. It’s a top-down, command and control, para-military mindset with more the 85% of the top decision-makers being male.
In the example above, how many “female” dollars will that hospitality company lose before they start acknowledging the segment. Lot’s of businesses wait so long that they never catch up, because a savvier business courted and wooed the market and now they have a loyal base.

By: Kevin Horne

Kevin Horne — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:43:32 +0000

I’ll admit I’m struggling a bit with the notion of the “blurring of boundaries.” Maybe this is a cop out, but I’ve found the conversations go easier when treating men and women as marketing segments, which means you are looking for differences not similarities.
As an example, I’ve just come off a pitch for a hospitality company. One of many ideas we presented was to view women travelers as an emerging opportunity, with some targeted and distinct marketing programs. I was met with mostly blank stares, since “80% of our guests today are male.”
I don’t doubt, as you say, that some personal baggage is there, but it seems a compelling business case has to be built first to knock some sense into these people. Seems easier to do it via the fundamental principles of segmentation than to call for a branding make-over.

By: Elaine Fogel

Elaine Fogel — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:11:59 +0000

I always thought that feminism simply meant looking at issues from a woman’s perspective. Maybe we need to do some marketing on the term’s meaning so it isn’t so stigmatized.